December 8, 1982

              Saratoga Springs, New York
Skidmore NEWS
Vol. 63 No. 7
December 8, 1982


Hoffman: America’s Leading Dissident
By Susan Houriet

Abbie Hoffman. To some, the name evokes memories, very real memories, of the turbulent decade of the 1960’s. But to most Skidmore students, the only memories of this decade are the dim, happy memories of childhood. On December 1, Abbie Hoffman spoke here at Skidmore to a standing-room-only crowd in Murray Dining Hall. Mixed in with his humor were serious messages to students of the 80’s: that the freedoms that we take for granted as students today were bitterly fought for by our predecessors, and that we can still change history as they did.

Hoffman has been referred to as “America’s leading dissident.” He was trained as a clinical psychologist at Brandeis and Berkeley, and dropped out of the profession in the early 60’s to join the civil rights movement. As a field secretary for the Student Non-Violent Committee, he worked on the voter registration drives in the rural areas of the South. In 1966 he moved to New York’s Lower East Side where he organized street people and ‘hippies.’ Active in the anti-Vietnam War movement since 1964, he formed the Youth International Party, the Yippies— as an attempt to politically activate the counter-culture and in turn all American youth. Demonstrations outside the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968 brought Hoffman to national prominence and also made him a number one target of the “Nixon Repression.” In the Chicago Conspiracy Trial, called by the ACLU the most important political trial of this century, he shocked the nation by bringing his guerilla theater tactics and mockery of unjust authority into the courtroom.

In 1973 he was charged with the possession of cocaine, and faced with “an impossible situation,” fled underground. He spent 7 years as a fugitive, the first years in Central America and Mexico. In 1976 he moved to the 1000 Islands region of upper New York State, and in 1978 the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a project that would have destroyed the beautiful region. Under an assumed name, and facing a life sentence, he managed to organize a successful three year battle to defeat the proposal. Without realizing his true identity, the Governor of New York and Senator Patrick Moynihan publicly praised his leadership. Hoffman ‘turned himself in’ in the fall of 1980, and spent a year in prison on a reduced charge. While in prison he participated in a work/release program counseling drug abusers. Although Governor Carey verbally promised him a full pardon, it has not yet become official. Hoffman was released last spring, and has been active in the 1000 Islands region battling the transportation of nuclear waste. He is currently on a cross-country speaking tour, which is in part for the promotion of his new book, Square Dancing in the Ice Age.

Hoffman surveyed Wednesday night’s audience for a few moments and said “Skidmore huh?” which brought the first of many laughs for the evening. Hoffman discussed issues ranging from his childhood to Reagan’s “trickle-down laissez-faire slavery.” Hoffman grew up in a Jewish household in Worcestor, Massachusetts, where his generation was taught to “worship big” and to follow the American dream. Then along came the 60’s and “young people began to turn their backs on that gentile bullshit.” Hoffman started protesting when the practice was still considered ‘weird.’ He insisted throughout his lecture that you can change situations that are unjust, and pointed to the results of the civil rights movement as an example. His message was that progress can take place, and that when you fight for freedom, you can understand your situation to a greater extent.

Hoffman went on to touch on the anti-Vietnam war movement, and that although it has past, can teach us a valuable lesson about history and education. Hoffman learned when he entered college that history can be changed to suit anyone’s needs. A recent poll of Boston area high school students showed that 75% of the students could not point to Vietnam on a map, and 35% did not even know that there had been a war there! People don’t like to talk about the losses in Vietnam, but Hoffman feels that the anti-war movement was a positive reflection on the “height of democracy” in the Western world. It was a demonstration and an exercise in the power of democracy. And the troops were brought home. Hoffman feels that democracy demands dissent in order to be true democracy.

Discussing his years as a fugitive, he said that it was a ‘different experience.’ When he moved to the 1000 Islands he learned to be a ‘nobody’ and to discuss fish and the weather rather than political and social issues. But when he heard about the Army Corps of Engineers plans, he couldn’t turn his back on his conviction that something could be done. He organized the grassroots movement “Save The River” and had hundreds of 1000 Island residents attend the public hearings and protest in Washington D.C. Hoffman says that the key to grassroots 

Continued on page 11






WSPN, Is Something Wrong?
By Mike Ross

W.S.P.N.,the radio station of Skidmore College has grown dramatically in the past four years. It has increased from a pitiful 10 watt entity to major 250watt radio power with a potential listenership of 250,000. Under the control of station manager Steve Rosenbaum WSPN has become a progressive professional broadcasting center. But underlying this highly successful venner lies controversy.

The controversy surrounding WSPN is not scandalous. Instead it is a question of ethics,opinions and styles. It is controversy that emboils everyone from the F.C.C. to Skidmore Admissions. A controversy that shocks some,bores others and puts some on the defensive.

To understand this controversy one must understand WSPN,what it is, where it is going and where its been. In 1976 WSPN was a tiny,unstructured radio station .It was basically a small group of students playing any records they chose for an audience that was only campus wide. But with the acquisition of a new F.C.C. license and substantial monetary grants from the school, WSPN was able to increase its size and power to that of a major radio station this drastic improvement,WSPN’s style also had to change drastically. The question now is whether or not the new style chosen was for the better. The station had to develop an identity. That certain style that a listener knew he could find when he tuned in. An identity that the now vastly increased potential audience could appreciate. They needed to stay on the air 24 hours a day,all yearlong. They needed to become“Professional”.

From listening to WSPN one cannot tell that it is Skidmore’s station,as its affiliation with this school is never mentioned. While all the other eight schools contacted,proudly and frequently state something like“Hobart Radio...WHOB”,WSPN opts for WSPN....The Listening Alternative. “We feel continually mentioning Skidmore would alienate many listeners”,responds Rosenbaum. To this critics would say,“We want our radio station to be proud of where its from. If potential listeners tune out because it is Skidmore’s station,let them." Assistant Dean Burnham expresses it in this

Continued on page 15


Steve Rosenbaum






Inside

Abbie Hoffman Interview 
page 5

Drinking Laws
page 12




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